


Breeding Assignments

by vilnolin



Series: X5REVISED [3]
Category: Dark Angel
Genre: Gen, x5revised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-21
Updated: 2010-06-21
Packaged: 2017-11-29 00:25:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vilnolin/pseuds/vilnolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Yeah, well, I remember a certain someone rigging Renfro’s car to explode just to make sure the breeding assignments got redone so 105 was with you." Alec, Assassination is Such a Strong Word<br/>Just what had the breeding assignments been before?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breeding Assignments

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: i don't own dark angel.  
>   
> reformat/edit: 22.7.14

**September 8th, 2020**  
            Breathing free air was a wonderful experience. 494 should know, this was his third time in psy-ops, and every time they seemed less keen on letting him go. Which was surprising to him; he knew the system and gave them all the answers they were looking for. He was going to have to face the possibility that they were catching on to just how good of an actor he was.  
            However, if they had a  _reason_  to drag him in there in the  _first place_  beside some random fuck up that his twin unit ( _Fucking 493._ ), had done on the outside. The only good thing the coward had done was gotten himself killed, put out of whatever misery that his obviously not genetic psychosis had gotten him into. Very rarely was 494 actually  _happy_  to hear another of his kind had died.  
            “494!”  
            Startled out of his thoughts, 494 snapped his head up; looking around the small common room his unit had been afforded just because they had the mantle ‘X5R’. To his right was X5R-496, the bear spliced version of himself, still taller and bulkier then 494 could hope to be, looking slightly worried. 494 tried to offer him a smile, but the muscles in his face felt weak; he hadn’t used them for more than answering questions for nearly six months. “Hey, 496.”  
            To his surprise, 496 stopped in his tracks, looking like his worst fears had been confirmed. “They took your name?  _Again_?” 494 shot him a look. “Jeez, sorry. Just how many times am I going to have to remind you of your own damned name?”  
            “I’d rather you didn’t.” 494 ignored the startled look from his clone and sighed. “I’m pretty sure psy-ops is on to me.” He mustered up a weak smile. “I remember you guys, Felix. Don’t worry so much.”  
            496 let out a breath that he had been holding. “Fuck! I thought you were totally back on the Man’s side.” He smiled, clasping 494 on the shoulder. “I think we would have had some issues.”  
            494 found the smile came easier this time; he was remembering what it was like to be a transgenic again and not Manticore’s perfect soldier. “Jace back yet?”  
            Felix frowned, looking rather disheartened. “No. Whatever happened out there, Jace failed. Went AWOL.”  
            494 felt himself sneer a little, unable to help himself. “If it was that little tramp niner that Deck’s been after, 452-” He let a growl slip from his throat. “I’ll take the bitch out myself.” Felix had a look on his face that 494 couldn’t quite read. “What?”  
            “Deck caught 452 and 599 when they blew up the Wyoming DNA bank. I think the niner-formerly-known-as-Brin helped.” He made a face. “You know, I really kind of hate 734. Keema is so much more  _fun_.”  
            494 frowned again. “I wish they’d stop putting these re-captured niners in our unit. I mean, we have fucking  _standards_.” He paused. “452 isn’t in my unit.”  
            Felix sighed. “Yes she is. And yes, she looks  _just_  like Sam. Only more annoying.”  
            “Fuck me!”  
            “Only if you ask  _really_  nicely.” 494 looked around to see X5R-105 and X5R-735 ( _Keegan and Keema, I need to remember to use_ names _again!_ ), stroll into the common room, both dressed to the nines in nothing resembling the Manticore grey uniforms.  
            In fact, seeing the last two females (that he liked) in the unit sporting little black dresses and stiletto heels was provoking a reaction he was certainly hoping Felix wasn’t scenting. “Well, you two certainly are dressed to kill.”  
            Keegan grinned, pulling up the hem of her skirt enough to reveal the edge of a holster. “I don’t know  _how_  they expect us to  _work_  in these things.”  
            “I dunno,” Felix mumbled, not taking his eyes off her chest, “I think it’s working for me.”  
            Predictably, Keegan swatted at him. “You know, I’m pretty sure I can stab you with my shoe. They look pointy enough.”  
            Keema already had slipped one off, and was hitting the heel against her palm, making a face. “Yeah, enough force and this could go through your skull.”  
            Felix chuckled. “Well, maybe not mine. I do have a pretty thick skull. Might wanna go for a heart shot instead.”  
            494 punched him in the shoulder. “No more recruiting people into using shoes as weapons! It’s  _girly_.”  
            “I don’t use my  _shoes_ ,” Felix started, “I make bombs out of my  _boots_. Not girly.”  
            Keema laughed, slipping her shoe back on. “Girly or not,  _we_  need to get a move on. You guys should hurry; you’ve got drills in the main yard today…you know, with the  _niners_.” She made a face.   
            Keegan laughed. “Yeah, have fun with that. We have a date with several high ranking contract holders. When will people learn not to dig into their classified contracts?” She gave a mock sigh.  
            There was a footstep at the edge of 494’s hearing, and he snapped his hand up, signaling for silence. Not ten seconds later, Director Renfro and two lab techs walked into the common room. All four snapped to attention, waiting for orders.  
            494 hated to admit it, but it was hilarious to watch Renfro inspect the two females in civvies ( _and revealing civvies at that…_ ). “105, 735, aren’t you supposed to be on assignment?” Instead of answering, the two transgenics snapped a salute, and headed on their way. Renfro frowned, turning her attention to 494. “Your unit may have gotten away with a lot when Lydecker was here, but  _I_  expect you to have control over them, despite any leaves of absence you may have taken.”  
            494 snapped a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”  
            He didn’t like the smile she gave him, or to Felix as she stepped towards him, placing a lacquered nail dangerously close to his shoulder. “Otherwise, I’ll have to promote your second in command.” Felix looked physically ill, which he hid before any of the humans noticed. “I trust X5R-496 was informing you of your new unit mate?”  
            494 wondered how much he had hated Renfro  _before_  this last psy-ops visit, and had a fleeting bit of respect for the woman to inspire such a deep emotion so quickly  _each and every time_. “Yes, ma’am.” Keep his mouth shut, because the higher-ups are the ones to watch.  
            Renfro smiled again. “Good. I need your second for some tests, 494. You are to report to the lab as soon as 496 is sent back to relieve you.”  
            He itched to salute again, and part of him  _loathed_  everything that made that blinding obedience extend to this  _whore_  of a human. “Yes, ma’am.” This time, his voice was joined by the slightly deeper baritone of Felix, as he, too, acknowledged the order. 494 had to give the guy credit; he had the bland monotone thing  _down_.  
            Looking pleased, Renfro turned, heading for the hall. Felix shot 494 a meaningful look and quickly signed in the Manticore hand code, :: _If she actually touches me, I can’t be held responsible for killing her._ ::  
            494 looked towards the ceiling, fighting to keep his composure. Renfro, however, paused at the entryway, turning to see Felix wasn’t exactly two steps behind her. “Are you coming, 496?”  
            “Yes, ma’am.” Felix monotoned, signing :: _There better be snacks. New med cocktail wreaks havoc on the metabolism._ ::  494 watched them leave, knowing without a doubt that whatever ‘tests’ she was running, they weren’t going to be good, for any of them. However, with nothing  _he_  could do about it, he headed for the drill yard, strolling easily out into the sunlight, and ignoring the sudden quiet that fell as the rest of the transgenics took note of exactly  _who_  had just left the building.  
            Yeah, he had been dreading this part. Why couldn’t Renfro have grabbed Felix  _later_?  
            “494!” He turned to face the CO of another unit, a tall, blonde female named Cece, as she stepped up to him. He gave her a small nod, hiding a smile. She flashed him a small one, making sure none of the perimeter guards saw. “Your unit’s been paired with mine for the day since there are so few of you. I trust it will be fine?”  
            494 gave her a curt nod, not wanting to tip anyone off that it was  _more_  then fine; Cece’s unit—Delta Unit—had ranked nearly as high as his own, which had them sent on more missions once the X5Rs had been split into their two units upon graduation in 2017, one being sent to Quantico and the other staying in Wyoming as Phoenix Unit. Because of this, the two units had become quite close. “Good. We’re due for drills in two minutes. That damned 452 has been giving me hell about working for Manticore.” Cece gave him a small smile. “You want me to tell her  _you’re_  her CO?”  
            The look on his face must have said it all, because she actually gave a short laugh before dropping the subject and heading off towards the drill line.  
            It was about twenty minutes before chow ( _and about a half hour after he noticed 452 had the same great ass that Sam did, something he honestly wished he never noticed._ ) when Felix appeared just behind him in the drill line, and tapped him on the shoulder, informing him that it was  _his_ turn to be Renfro’s pet for a while. Something about the way Felix was carrying himself made 494  _very_  nervous.  
            The bland halls were about ten degrees cooler then outside, and 494 was only half thankful for that; it was cold to preserve their bodies should they drop dead. Knowing that made it hard to appreciate the air conditioning. Director Renfro’s office loomed in front of him, and 494 took a bracing breath. He had faced terrorists, enemy troops, even a very pissed off bear once, but none of them seemed as frightening as the lady who currently had the power to end his life with one signature on a piece of paper. He hesitantly knocked on the door.  
            “Come.” With forced ease, he slid open the door, and faced the snake with blonde hair who sat behind her desk like it was a throne. “X5R-494, we’re going to need a semen sample. The specimen container is in the bathroom along with any materials you might need.” She waved him off.  
            Well, it wasn’t the oddest sample they had taken from him, and no he was not going to remember  _that_  particular instance, not if he actually wanted to get  _this_  done any time soon. 494 snapped a salute and headed into the bathroom joined to her office without a word.  
            True to her orders, the specimen cup was sitting on the sink, resting on…nature magazines. 494 fought down the growl that threatened to bubble up from his chest. He had killed much more important people for much less insulting things. Well, at least he knew why Felix was in such a mood. Fifteen humiliating minutes later, he was presenting Renfro with her damned specimen and getting stuck with a needle for his trouble. 494 watched the intern draw his blood with mild interest, if only because she was so terrified of actually touching him. Renfro was watching her too, and frowning. “Hurry up, Taft.” She snapped.  
            The intern dropped the vial she had been attempting to attach to the needle, and gave a small curse, risking a glance towards 494 before bending down to pick it up. 494 took it out of her hands, causing her to shrink back, and deftly snapped it into place, surprised at himself for  _feeling_  for the poor intern. After it was full, he unsnapped it and handed it back to her, saying, “Ma’am.”  
            The intern stared at him for a full minute before taking his blood, and then watching him take the needle out and wipe down the area far faster then she had done to put the needle in. “Thank you.”  
            In hind sight, it was the ‘Thank you’ that caused him to look back at her, and actually see that she resembled Cece a little, if shorter, and older by a year or two.   
            Renfro made a tutting noise with her tongue. “You don’t need to  _thank_  him, Taft. Go test him.” She looked back at 494. “You’re dismissed.”  
            He snapped another salute. “Ma’am.”  
            Two rights and a left, and he was back in the safety of his common room, curled on his favorite couch and hoping to god that there weren’t more drills that day he had to deal with.  
  
 **September 9th, 2020**  
  
            “ _Breeding Program_?”   
            To be honest, 494 wasn’t surprised at the pitch of the voice. He was, however, surprised it came from  _Felix_. “Yes, Felix. Apparently all that testing yesterday was for fertility and genetic compatibility. Our handler told me today we’re going to get a seminar about our partners, what our mission objective is-”  
            “I think that’s pretty clear.” Keegan grumbled, looking rather put out. “I mean, ‘Breeding’ is in the name. And they  _did_  take all of us off the birth control hormones they’ve been pumping us full of since we were thirteen.”  
            Keema made a face. “Did anyone think it wasn’t a good idea to put your elite team out of commission by getting them knocked up? And isn’t it odd that out of all of the X5s, a majority of the breed able ones are the elite ones?”  
            494 shrugged. “Good genes? But I hate to point out that they do have the rest of the X5Rs in Quantico. I mean, we are the trouble makers of the group; the better soldiers, yes, but the ones who certainly got in trouble more.”  
            “I blame the Man for everything.” Felix announced. “I mean, if they hadn’t tried to make you a living lie detector, you wouldn’t been so susceptible to sensing people’s emotions and getting caught up in them.”  
            494 gave him a look. “I’m sure Manticore looks at it like that. Really. It’s all  _their_  fault.”  
            Keegan rolled her eyes. “I still think the more pressing problem is the fact us females are going to be knocked up by some random X5. How the hell is that ok? Especially after all we’ve worked to build…”  
            They all sat for a long moment, staying quiet, until, “Maybe the wolf pack way of living with our unit isn’t a good way anymore. If a female goes into heat during the Breeding Program, it possibly can cause a mating. And because this is Manticore forced, I don’t think we can hold either party responsible.” Felix frowned. “This is looking less and less awesome.”  
            “How was it ever awesome?” Keema demanded.  
            Felix grinned. “Sex. With some pretty hot transgenics too.”  
            Keegan sighed, “Figures.”  
            “Guys, we have to go through with this. We don’t have to tell the truth.” 494 said, eyes glittering. “Like, if your partner is really freaked, lie. Tell them you did when you didn’t. I know  _you_  can always find someone, Keegan.”  
            Keegan flipped him off. “Just because I went into heat before all of you doesn’t mean it gets held over my head for the next twelve years. And you’re just jealous cause it wasn’t _you_.”  
            494 made to reply, but Keema kicked him in the shin. He shot her a questioning look, but she said nothing, keeping her gaze straight ahead. Again, he  _hated_  how the females in his unit had this anti-male winning thing going on.  
            But, his thoughts (and witty reply which he was so going to fire off anyway) were cut short by X5-734 walked quickly into the common room. Immediately, the tension rose. “The breeding assignments are up.” She said, looking just past 494. Felix was already out the door, knocking Brin sideways in his haste to check. She raised an eyebrow. “I trust those were his orders-”  
            494 stood, making sure that 734  _felt_  just how much shorter she was then him. “I realize you think you can come in here, and prove you’re just as good as we are. I have some news for you; you’re not. We’ve got ten years of  _specialized_  training on you, and  _we’ve_ been the ‘good little soldiers’ a lot longer than you,  _niner_. Come in here all high and mighty again, and I’ll bench you.” He gave her a smile that clearly showed off his fangs. “Am I clear?”  
            “Sir, yes, sir.” Brin said, saluting.  
            Keema couldn’t help but giggle at her twin’s expression. “Maybe you should add more meat to your diet, girl.” Brin’s expression didn’t change, but her agitation was palatable.  
            494 had enough of the imitation X5R, and gave a wave very similar to Renfro’s. “Dismissed.” Brin about-faced and marched out, with her back held straight and her nose determinedly in the air.  
            Keegan and Keema both burst out laughing at the display. “She’s priceless!” Keema gasped.  
            494 chuckled himself, glancing at his watch. “I’ve got to run for my seminar. I’ll meet you guys on the drill field.” He barely caught their waves as he walked quickly into the hall, following his internal map to the classrooms where they held their instructions and seminars.  
            Halfway there, footsteps joined his as Felix fell into step beside him. 494 could  _smell_  the agitation rolling off the other, even before he opened his mouth; “Aw fuck, man! They paired me up with that niner!”  
            At first, 494 found this exceptionally funny. But then, remembering Felix’s demolitions, and then precisely how the ‘amazing 452’ had been recaptured… “Oh great. The two of you will just go over  _explosively_.”  
            Felix made a face. “Hey. First of all,  _if_  I was to blow up the DNA database—and had I known it would promote  _sex_  I just may have—it would have not been nearly as sloppy-”  
            “And would have taken out all of Manticore with it.”  
            Felix paused, considering 494’s words. “Probably. Secondly, I highly doubt Renfro thought of the possible pyromaniac tendencies breeding true.”  
            The fact that  _Felix_  had thought about it was what was concerning 494. “What are you planning…?”  
            “Car bomb.” Felix said simply.  
            494 smacked a hand over his face. “Felix…”  
            Felix shot him a look. “Taliban-style. Note and everything. Come on, how many times has she shifted ranks based on threats and psy-ops?”  
            He had a valid point. But 494 could only think of one reason for Felix to pass on this. “Who the hell could be next in genetic compatibility with you to make you so anxious to switch out? I mean, 452’s kinda hot.” Felix didn’t answer. “Seriously.”  
            Felix sighed, looking anywhere but at 494. “Keegan.”  
            His jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”  
            “It was there in black and white, man.” He looked almost…happy. And that wasn’t an emotion 494 had truly seen on Felix since before they had been X5Rs.  
            “But that’s great!” 494 paused. “Wait a sec, who gets stuck with the niner?”  
            The way Felix was smiling meant that this was the  _other_  shoe. “Well, we  _are_  the same cloning line…and she’ll probably reason something like trying to mix too many animals in the genetic cocktail…”  
            It wasn’t that 494 never had a thing for Sam, no. It was the fact that this was an niner, who had proven to be annoying and sloppy during drills, and there was just so much you could base on looks for a transgenic. He  _did_  have standards. “Oh, you so fucking owe me! You two better end up mated!”  
            He was surprised to see Felix’s smile soften, and the taller transgenic to look almost wistful. “I hope so.”  
            An hour later, Renfro’s car exploded, and the breeding assignments were redone. X5R-496 reported to X5R-105’s barracks. X5R-494 reported to X5-452’s.  
            That night, 494’s only action was getting kicked into the cell door.  
            The night after, he was given the name he’d carry for the rest of his life, Alec.


End file.
